Every closed-up fast food place in Detroit

[Pickford-Bentler]

There is a building on the south side of W 7 Mile, one block west of Shiawasse Dr. that is presently a Coney Island. That was a Pizza Hut back in the 1970s.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Another Top Hat was at Gratiot and Van Dyke, at the later site of Rally's and Wendy's. And wasn't there also a Top Hat or something similar on Gratiot near Harper? And there was a little building at Cass and Davenport that was once a White Tower. [/QUOTE]

Top Hat's were everywhere. I remember one on the corner of 8 Mile and Livernois, where a Shell station presently resides.

[313WX]

Besides Gratiot/Van Dyke, the other Top Hat locations on Gratiot were:

*Gratiot & McClellan [[where the Burger King is now)
*Gratiot & 8 Mile [[where the Gulf gas station is now)

[EASTSIDE CAT 67-83]

Anyone remember the old "Steak & Eggs" chain, I believe there was one on the East side on Jefferson and Lakepoint in GPP, it's been gone at least 25-30 years or more. I think there was a White Tower at the bus turnaround just across the street also.

[DTWflyer]

New Entries:
Subway - Birmingham 213 E Maple Rd, Birmingham, MI 48009, closed 2010, relocated to 126 S. Old Woodward Avenue, now Try It Raw
Quiznos - Troy 2846 W Maple Rd, Troy, MI 48084, closed 2010??, now Sala Thai Restaurant
Wendys - Harbor Springs, 3473 M-119 Harbor Springs, MI 49740, opened 2008, closed 2008, attached to EZ-Mart Gas Station, reopened 2013 as Johans Burger Express

Updated Entries:
Burger King - Clawson: Closed in 2012, vacant
McDonalds - Waters 1250 W. Marlette Rd: Closed early 2000s, reopened as Bros Bistro 2012
McDonalds - Beverly Hills 31655 Southfield Rd. Closed 2012?, vacant: closed 2012, torn-down, new location built 1 mile south of 13 mile

[Onthe405]

Does anyone recall Kmart briefly attempting to expand into the fast-food business with Kmart Chef?

I ran across a reference to this a few years ago in a blog:

http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogsp...l#comment-form

Like its namesake store, the pilot restaurants started in the Detroit area, apparently locations in Pontiac and Mt Clemens--both buildings are still standing and are restaurants under different names.

[DetroitHabitater]

I think this was a pizza hut

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Royal...62.45,,0,-0.88

[EastsideAl]

Anyone remember the old "Steak & Eggs" chain, I believe there was one on the East side on Jefferson and Lakepoint in GPP, it's been gone at least 25-30 years or more. I think there was a White Tower at the bus turnaround just across the street also.

Most of the Steak and Egg Kitchens were rebranded Toddle Houses. In addition to the one you mention, there was also one towards downtown on Jefferson in front of what is now the Detroit Regency Motel [[was then a Travelodge, I believe). Building is still there as Main St. Coney Island.

I remember that White Tower at the Wayburn bus turnaround well. My grandmother used to buy me some eggs and herself a cup of coffee before she got on the bus to go downtown and to drop me near my house.

[mtburb]

Bob, if you still read this, in addition to putting all that info on this thread onto this site, there's a major error.

The former Riverview Domino's is listed twice, but in different cities. It should be fixed, I would prefer you remove the Wyandotte listing [[since the Riverview one is more recent, but I'm unsure what is there now), because the Wyandotte and Riverview listings are actually the same, it's just that for many years [[until about seven-eight years ago), all businesses in Riverview had Wyandotte addresses until the current 48193 zip code was created.

Plus, here's two more updates:

Taylor Fuddrucker's: Opened January 20, 2003, closed ca. 2008, later American Pie, closed late 2011 or early 2012, vacant
Lincoln Park Dunkin Donuts [[Dix/Southfield): Later Donut Palace, now Bread Basket Deli

And an addition:

Fire Mountain; Taylor; unknown address [[northeast corner of Eureka Road and Huron Street); closed 201x, vacant

[Pickford-Bentler]

The building on the southeast corner of Grand River and Braile was once a Dairy Queen. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=48219...200.16,,1,7.08

[Pickford-Bentler]

This building on the south side of Grand River past Burt Road was originally a Pizza Hut. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=48219...12,182.87,,0,0

[Wheels]

Does anyone recall Kmart briefly attempting to expand into the fast-food business with Kmart Chef?

I ran across a reference to this a few years ago in a blog:

http://pleasantfamilyshopping.blogsp...l#comment-form

Like its namesake store, the pilot restaurants started in the Detroit area, apparently locations in Pontiac and Mt Clemens--both buildings are still standing and are restaurants under different names.

It is very curious that they are not on the list. There was a TemPoundHammer that posted on that site too.

[TenPoundHammer]

Whoa, I've been kinda busy, so I'm way behind here. I'll try to add these locations in the next few days.

Detroit Planner: I'm actually in Oscoda, which is north of Standish.

Tg_Jessica: The Port Huron Chi-Chi's did have a Fort Gratiot address, since it was physically in Fort Gratiot Township. Most of the stuff on the north side of Port Huron is considered Fort Gratiot, including Birchwood Mall.

RO_resident, 45th Parallel: I did like the Lud's in Alpena from the few times I ate there. There was also a Lud's Express here in Oscoda for a couple years.

DTWflyer: A Wendy's in Harbor Springs?!? Very odd location choice. There isn't even a McDonald's out there. Almost as odd as the lone Wendy's way out in Interlochen.

Mtburb: Whoops. Bound to happen on a longer list like that. Removed the duplicate Domino's.

Wheels: I was considering not including Kmart Chef, since there were only a few of them overall. I don't include some of the smaller chains like Halo Burger, Big John Steak & Onion, etc. since I try not to include chains that only have a very small number of locations and/or small market size overall. Both of those chains are pretty much Flint/Saginaw only, so they're out.

But I think Kmart Chef may be a reasonable exception, since the small number of locations was offset by a fairly wide regional spread.

====

Were there any other Zantigos in Detroit or Michigan as a whole, besides the few I found?

[Pickford-Bentler]

@TenPoundHammer: It's a small world. I own a home off of US-23 seven miles south of Oscoda. Anyhow, your list is great. However, there was a Dunkin Doughnuts in Tawas at the southwest corner of the intersection of US-23 and M-55 that was razed to make way for a Right Aid. I used to go there to get my coffee before going to Huron Sport and Fitness. Kane's orginal gym was in the back of a sporting goods store in Oscoda. Nowdays, I have to use Tim Hortons. There is an argument in my family about the Mexican joint that replaced the Pizza Hut in Tawas. Most of my family equates quality with mass. So they feel the joint in Sid Town is better because they give you a huge mound of refried beans. My brother and I like the place in Tawas because the overall meal presentation is better. Anyhow, check out the leads I gave you about Detroit. I lived in that area for 25 years. My father live in that region of Detroit from 1954 to 2008. I like how you caught the Dunkin in Alpena. We used to make a pit stop there on the way up to the Soo Locks. My father worked on the Jay Burton Ayers circa 1950. She is presently the second oldest boat on the lakes and has been renamed the Cayahoga.

[mtburb]

And I have another addition:

Dunkin Donuts; Madison Heights; 29011 Stephenson Highway [[in Marathon); now Detroit Donuts

[TenPoundHammer]

However, there was a Dunkin Doughnuts in Tawas at the southwest corner of the intersection of US-23 and M-55 that was razed to make way for a Right Aid. I used to go there to get my coffee before going to Huron Sport and Fitness.

That was actually a Dawn Donuts in a Marathon station. My dad used to go there a lot when he lived in Tawas City — first in the Liberty Building, then in the trailer park off M-55 and Nunn Road. Oddly, the 1994 Polk city directory lists the Dawn Donuts, but not the Marathon, and none of my phone books from 1987-1994 list a Marathon there at all.

There is an argument in my family about the Mexican joint that replaced the Pizza Hut in Tawas. Most of my family equates quality with mass. So they feel the joint in Sid Town is better because they give you a huge mound of refried beans.

That joint is called Desi's, and it's actually in Footesite. I think the only thing in Sid Town is a cluster of houses.

[Pickford-Bentler]

The time frame I remember is the late 1990s to mid 2000s. I like to eat bagels with my coffee and, at that time, the Dunkin was the only joint offering that. The location may well have had a Dawn before that. The reason I am near certain is that I bought the exact same products there as in the location in Alpena. Every time I visited Oscoda, my father insisted on being driven to the Soo. And one needs a big coffee before they do that stretch of US-23 between Alpena and Cheyboygan. That stretch of road puts one to sleep. Now, I go to Hortons. Desi's is the name of the place. I believe it is right by that Dam Store . My father is buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery. His family started going to that area in 1925. Their original cottage washed into Lake Huron in 1953. I still have two relative from that generation living in Oscoda. They are respectively age 89 and 94. I like the golf courses and will be playing at Red Hawk next summer.

[TenPoundHammer]

The Alpena Dunkin' was a Dawn previously. Tawas City's Dawn Donuts was already gone by the late 90s.

[msamslex]

Update: The recently closed BaJa Fresh Mexican Grill over in the shopping plaza on Haggerty, [[Northville side) across from Schoolcraft College will be a Mediterranean restaurant called Food on Wood.


Back in the early 90's there was a McDonald's on W. Warren just east of Livernois and the Coca Cola plant. After it closed, I think it reopened as a Coney Island for awhile that eventually closed. Building stayed vacant. but is now torn down I believe.

[Elevator Fan]

The Ponderosa in Fairlane was on the left side of the lower level as you approached the entrance to Lord & Taylor.

Hungry Penguin was a chain owned by the Burgell family who owned the Susie Q Restaurant on Woodward in Royal Oak. A home on the east side of Lahser between Lone Pine and Long Lake Roads inexplicably has a Hungry Penguin statue in its front yard.

[downtownguy]

Hungry Penguin was a chain owned by the Burgell family who owned the Susie Q Restaurant on Woodward in Royal Oak. A home on the east side of Lahser between Lone Pine and Long Lake Roads inexplicably has a Hungry Penguin statue in its front yard.

Thanks EF. I hadn't thought of Hungry Penguin for years until a previous poster mentioned it. As much as I'm trying to remember why it sounds familiar, I can't think of where I might have gone to one back then. Were there any on the west side?

[mtburb]

Well, I just found another ironic conversion, even though this one's not even in Michigan, but not too far south of the border [[but far enough to be considered a world where no one even wants to hear Ann Arbor mentioned). This Toledo Church's Chicken was originally a KFC, judging by the architecture: http://goo.gl/maps/Zv9xL

[TenPoundHammer]

The Ponderosa in Fairlane was on the left side of the lower level as you approached the entrance to Lord & Taylor.

So about where DSW is now? Or closer to center court [[Hollister area)? Also, any idea if it was anything previously? Ponderosa in a big-city mall seems VERY odd.

[psubliminal]

Hungry Penguin rings a bell, but I can't remember anything about them. Was it the forerunner of Arthur Treacher's?

There used to be one of those on Wayne Road in Westland.

[mtburb]

Well, I just found this out today:

Cinnabon; Taylor; Southland Center; closed 2013, vacant [[was at the intersection of the west court and the corridor to the former Mervyn's)